TW: Talk of sexual assault.
Also, this chapter is not Jiriaya friendly.
Haruhi squatted near the chicken coop, placing a handful of feed just outside of the fence. The hens clucked, sticking their heads into the holes in the fence and pecking up the corn. It looked like those glass bird things that bobbed up and down to drink water from water glasses.
She shifted, carefully removing one of her backup flip flops with bunnies from her backpack. It was civilian grade, so that meant foamy and extra floppy. Haruhi carefully raised her flip flop…
"Whatcha doin?"
Haruhi looked over to see Sasuke, Naruto, and Tenten eating fried treats they bought from the Towns marketplace with pocket change given to them from Kakashi. Jiriaya thought Tsunade resided here, but so far had no luck finding her.
Haruhi slowly moves her index finger with nails painted with the polish from Tsubaki to her lips.
"Shhhh…"
Their eyes widened as Haruhi slowly lifted the flip flop…
And brought it down on the Hen's heads.
"BAWKK!" The Hens clucked angrily.
They flapped and ran around like chickens with their heads cut off, but settled down again when it was clear none of them had really been hurt. A few even stuck their heads out again.
The sandal made a peculiar sound at it made contact with the head. It wobbled a few times before stabilizing.
The three kids dissolved into giggles, even Sasuke who fruitlessly tried to hide his face in his high collar.
Haruhi raised her flip flop again and brought it down with zeal.
The Hens squawked like an out of tune orchestra, bumping into each other bumper car style.
Naruto dropped his treat and then followed it, laughing too hard to stand.
The big male roosted himself stud-walked over to the fence, probably to see what all the noise his hoes were making. He stood head and shoulders over the female hens, magnificent red plumage bright in contrast to his surroundings.
They squared off with Haruhi making and not breaking eye contact with the rooster.
The all held their breaths as the rooster squeezed his head through the metal netting, reaching towards the corn.
Haruhi lifted her flip flop…
"BWAKKKKKKK!"
The male rooster screeched as Haruhi whapped him on the head, pulling back and scaring the hens. It ran in a few circles and then into the fence.
Tenten joined Naruto on the Earth, tears of mirth streaking her face. Haruhi heard a thud as Kakashi fell out of his tree, gasping for air as laughter and the impact stole it from him.
A bright idea hit her, and Haruhi stepped light-footed towards Kakashi.
The kids knew what was going to happen a moment before it did as Haruhi raised her sandal…
And swat his forehead.
He gaped at her, torn between amusement and betrayal and the kids once again descended into fits of hilarity.
A smarmy, proud smile was his response.
The sound of someone clearing their throat made Haruhi look over to see a very unhappy farmer, who gestured for them to leave. Shrugging, Haruhi pulled the still laughing Naruto under one arm, with Kakashi heaved Tenten over his shoulder.
They left to rejoin the larger parts of town, Sasuke staggering after them.
"What was that all about?" Kakashi askes, humor chasing each syllable.
"I don't know. Bored. Felt like it."
"Did you have chickens back home?" Sasuke asked.
Haruhi blinked, not used to direct questions about her real home. It was a topic that was nearly taboo.
"Yes. We did. My dad would drive me with some of my friends and cousins out to the farms during the fall. We would pick out pumpkins to carve and make pumpkin pie. Some farms had apple orchids that we would pick from. We would do those huge corn mazes, and gawk at the farm animals." Haruhi said, nostalgia and homesickness apparent. "I drove some of my smaller cousins before I went to college…"
"That's cool." Naruto said, sounding genuinely fascinated.
"We should probably find Jiraiya now."
Sasuke scoffed.
"He'll probably start preaching about the cycle of hatred again."
Haruhi's mood soured further. The past week of this journey had been tense, to say the least. Jiriaya and Haruhi barely tolerated each other. He made constant misogynistic comments, and when he tried to comment on Tenten's figure, Haruhi snapped at him. It was only him teaching Tenten sealing, and starting Naruto on the Rasengan that made her hold her tongue.
Naruto's face when he realized that this was the Fourth Hokage's jutsu was indecipherable. Haruhi knew he was struggling with being sealed with the Fox, and that he knew his father had done it.
Jiriaya had actually seemed offended when Naruto didn't drop to his knees in reverence in response to learning of the jutsu's background. He seemed even more put-off when Naruto didn't immediately master the Jutsu. It was clear to Haruhi that he saw Naruto and thought of Minato.
"Yeah. Probably."
Having let Naruto down some minutes ago, he skipped along her side, heading in front of her, Tenten and Sasuke hot on his trail.
"It's too bad I can't get more treats." Naruto commented offhandedly. Holding up his empty frog purse. "Jiriaya took most of the money to use for research."
Haruhi paused mid-step.
What.
Kakashi looked just as mad.
"Okay. I need to get a drink." Haruhi exhaled sharply, spinning away and heading through the thick crowds to the water fountain that protruded from the side of a building.
She leaned over the fountain to take a sip when she heard someone speak.
"Hey. You're looking better than the last time I saw you."
Haruhi looked up and saw someone standing in the shadow of the building. Every inch of their skin was covered by generic clothing. She knew that voice. It was purposefully lowered to conceal their identity, and it was impossible to tell whether they were male or female.
"It's you." Haruhi breathed. "The person who helped me escape my cell in Orochimaru's lair."
They dipper their head in acknowledgement.
"Yes, it is me. I can show you where to find Tsunade."
"How do you know we were looking for her?" Surprisingly, Haruhi said that with no anger. She had a strange feeling, like she knew and could trust this person. Haruhi remembered kindness in the form of apple slices, crackers, and a water bottle.
"Who are you?"
"That is unimportant. You will know eventually. Tsunade is on the outskirts of the town, in a hotel that is lower-class. Jiriaya is making the mistake of looking into higher class hotels but at this juncture Tsunade can't afford that. It's called the Saiki-Inn."
"Okay. thank you."
They nodded at each other, Haruhi's mind spinning.
"Haruhi? Who is that?" Kakashi's sharp suspicious voice cut through the air like a whip-crack, and she turned towards him. All three kids were there.
"They were the person who freed me from my cell in Orochimaru's lair, and they just told me where to find Tsunade-"
The person was gone, a cloud forming around them with some kind of transportation jutsu.
Kakashi immediately summoned his hounds, and they took off.
"Who is this mysterious person who keeps showing up?" Haruhi asked, bewildered.
Pakkun came running back.
"The trail has gone cold. We can't pick up anything. It's like they winked out of existence. But whoever they are, I recognize the scent from the training grounds. They day team seven took the bell test."
Haruhi gasped, remembering how pakkun had sniffed suspiciously at the bushes. She had initially thought it was a rabbit.
"Hey, Sakura told me in her fight against Haku on the bridge, a mysterious person had told her to use the heavy machinery against Haku! Do you think it's the same person?" Naruto asked.
"And Haku told me she was almost too late to save Zabuza from Kakashi during their first encounter because she was investigating a strange chakra signal in the trees!" Tenten exclaimed.
"Do you remember when we were training in Uchiha grounds After people wouldn't leave Haruhi-sensei alone?" Sasuke asked. "Remember How Kakashi-sensei cut it short because he sensed someone? At first we thought it was Kabuto but could it also be them?"
They stood in stunned silence.
"Just who is this person?"
"What is their goal?"
"And why are they helping us?"
Kakashi held up his hand to bring silence, and then he spoke.
"We can figure out who they are later. But if they do know where Tsunade is, we need to find Jiraiya and head on over there."
Haruhi retold the location and they headed into town to search for Jiraiya.
As the shops got shadier and more suspect, and the people began to eye her pockets, Haruhi got a sinking feeling as to where Jiraiya was doing his "research".
Naruto looked even more unimpressed.
When they heard a commotion, women shrieking in annoyance, and Jiraiya's gassy voice, Haruhi grit her teeth and pulled back the curtain.
Jiriaya was lounging, half naked on a couch next to a woman he was rubbing his shoulder up against. She was fully clothed, but it was obvious that if she wasn't being paid to do this she wouldn't be near here. He was clearly inebriated. Naruto's money (she knew it was his because he folded it in a specific way to fit in his purse) was almost entirely gone, with only a few coins left on top of the solitary folded bill. He was peeping down her shirt when she was distracted by them coming in.
"Just what the fuck do you think you're doing?" Haruhi's voice was so cold and angry she didn't recognize it had come from herself until everyone looked at her.
The woman realized Jiriaya was gawking and shoved him away, and stood up disgusted.
"I only agreed to conversation and company!" She growled. She stormed past Haruhi and left.
Haruhi glared.
"What?" Jiriaya scoffed, annoyed. "Can't a guy relax?"
"Maybe when he's not on a time sensitive mission. We have an idea of where Tsunade is." Kakashi said, voice devoid of any inflection what-so-ever.
"You call that relaxing?"
Jiriaya looked to her.
"Just what is your problem with me? Is it because I felt you up? C'mon, it wasn't even that bad! Can't we forget about it?" He opened his arms, as if to emphasize a point.
The room quieted, everyone looked to her. And Haruhi heard her heart in her ears, she was so angry.
"No," She said softly, "I don't think we can." Haruhi walked forward with deliberation, pulled over a chair, and sat down.
Jiriaya frowned. Kakashi braced himself. He knew that look on her face.
"See, Jiriaya, I don't think you understand the implications of your actions."
"The-uh, Chest grabbing or the girl who just left?"
"Both."
"Do you know why it's wrong?"
"Uhh…" He was starting to look nervous now. Her deadly calm voice finally penetrated through the fog of alcohol and ignorance.
"Okay. I'll put this in simple terms so you can understand it. You're actions are not harmless. I am of course referring to you groping my chest, peeping down that Lady's shirt when she said no, Lewd comments towards Karin, and no doubt a multitude of other things you have done. Do you know why it's wrong?"
He began to say something but she cut him off.
"You are so dense. You are one of the most prominent figures in all of the elemental nations. You are a student of the third hokage, and teacher of the fourth. One of the legendary sannin. One of the last seal masters. I don't need to tell you that those titles come with much power, prestige, and influence."
It felt like she was watching someone else speak with her body. Her voice was low and still as a pond, but the entire room was silent listening to her. Naruto barely dared to breathe.
"Many people look up to you. Many people take their cues from you. Many try to follow in your footsteps. Whine and complain about how unfair that is, that it's too much pressure, it is the truth, and it's your responsibility to act mature and respectable in the face of that."
He said nothing.
"But you don't, do you?"
Haruhi gestured around. She slowly stood up from the chair and walked towards the table, slowly, like a predator. She picked up the paltry amount of Naruto's hard earned money left over and walked to Naruto. She took his frog purse and silently placed the money into it, every movement of her's followed.
"With all your prestige, people will try to emulate you. You set an example, a precedent. Actions speak louder than words. When you go and violate women's privacy, refuse to listen to them when they say no, to go away, they see that! They take note of it! People, ninja look up to you. And with your behavior of disrespecting women and not listening to them, using them for your own sexual gratification, you are telling every single person on the continent, especially ninja-who hold significant power over ordinary women-that that behavior is okay. That it is okay not to listen to women. To disrespect them. That they can do it, they can spy on women they can rape women, because the Legendary Jiraiya said it was okay through his actions."
Haruhi thought back to Karin, the meetings at Akria's.
"Now wait just a minute. I've never raped anyone-"
"I'm not saying you did. But rape is based on the facts that the victim is not listened to, is disrespected, and touched without their permission-things you have done. Behaviors you have done publicly and in full view."
Haruhi did not yell. She would not raise her voice over this inferior life-form.
He flushed, and got up from the couch.
"Whatever. You said you know where Tsuande is?" He pointedly ignored her and looked to Kakashi.
She saw red.
She would make it so he couldn't ignore her any longer.
"You wonder, don't you? Why you never got the girl?"
He froze.
"It's because women aren't property or rewards and It's because you're a failure. That is your legacy. It's all you are and all you ever will be. Tell me Jiraiya, how many people have you let down?
"That's not fair-"
"Was it fair when Naruto had to grow up alone and ostracized, when he had a godfather, alive and well? When you all but outright attacked Sasuke, who was innocent and in no position to defend himself against you? When you spy on hapless women in the baths? When you sexually harassed me, a defenseless civilian? And now you think you can come waltzing back into Naruto's life like you never left?"
She scoffed.
"Saying "like you never left' implies that you were there in the first place."
"...What did you expect me to do?"
It's his question, one of genuine confusion that finally gets her. Like it's an actual mystery what he should have done.
"I EXPECTED YOU TO BE THERE FOR HIM!" She roared.
They all jumped back.
"You talk about fairness as if people like you aren't the ones making the world unfair in the first place. You talk about the circle, the-the cycle of hatred. How it needs to change. You are one of the legendary sannin. Chosen to be Hokage, but balked, backed down like a little bitch. And while I agree that you shouldn't get the Hat, the fact remains that you could have accepted, and taken steps to make the world a better, fairer place, to stop or slow the cycle. But you didn't!"
Jiriaya didn't look her in the eyes.
"Look me in the fucking eyes! See! There you go again! You can't face the truth, you can't face reality, so you look away! You blink! You spend years outside of Konoha, instead of accepting it! You run like Tsunade ran! You are running from the Hat right now, hoping to foist it onto Tsunade! You are no better than her! You are nothing but a legendary coward!"
"I didn't come here to be disrespected by some newcomer."
She snorts in derision, and ignored her fish out of water status. She already knows it's true, but she's seen and heard enough to be sure of herself now.
"I don't know. Maybe I'm being too hard on you. Maybe you were a better person once, before the big bad cruel world got to you, but if you were, and that's a big if; we'll never know."
He looked angry now, but that didn't matter to her. She had faced down a scarier sannin. Kakashi made an aborted move, like he was going to grab The Sannin's shoulder but then thought better of it.
"You have no idea what I've been through, just how important my work is for Konoha's safety, how much I've suffered-"
"Boo. Hoo. We've all suffered. None of us are using it as an excuse to sexually assault women."
"..."
"Poor, poor, Jiraiya, the long suffering hero. How noble. The last remaining loyal sannin, the last of the Third's students. Woe is me."
She took a deep breath.
"Get over yourself! So what if you stayed? If you can call being out of the village for years at a time on 'spy missions' staying! You are not better because you stayed. You are worse, because you saw exactly what was going on, you were watching Konoha crumble and cannibalize itself, in real time, and did nothing."
She punctuated the last words with a sharp snap of her hand, and he reared back.
He staggered and turned, began to walk out.
That's when Haruhi landed the finishing blow.
"She'll never love you."
He stiffened. Visibly gathered himself. Then left.
The room was deathly quiet as Haruhi wiped her shaking sweaty hands on her blouse.
"And that kids," She said, with a false cheerful flair, "Is why you never meet your heroes."
0_o ...Damn. Haruhi. went. OFF. Amazing how a story can from from bopping chickens on the head to the complete desegregation of positive relations. Though escalation seems to be what I specialize in.
And whats the deal with this mysterious person? How come they are so vital?
IMPORTANT!
It is with great regret that i inform you, that I am,(yet again) going on Hiatus. :(
College is just around the corner and I need to get ready and do really well my first semester, So, I won't be seeing you until winter break! To clarify, I WILL finish this story, there IS and ending, and I will NOT leave y'all hanging! Hope you enjoyed and see you next time!